Tonneaux

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Large cylindrical barrels traditionally used for storing liquids such as wine or oil ; container shaped like a barrel employed for aging or transporting beverages ; wooden casks typically crafted for holding and fermenting wines or other spirits
2. Rounded wooden vessels often used in the storage and transport of liquids like alcohol ; barrel-shaped containers designed for aging wine or storing various liquids ; traditional casks commonly utilized in winemaking and beverage storage
3. Cylindrical wooden barrels mainly used for holding and shipping liquid goods ; containers formed like barrels that serve for maturing wine or other drinks ; storage casks characterized by their round, bulging shape customarily used in the wine industry

Etymology: "Tonneaux" is the plural of "tonneau," a French word for a large wine barrel that English borrowed directly from French. In French the word's core sense is a cask holding a fixed quantity of liquid, and the same root gives English "tun," an old term for a large cask, which is related through a shared Latin ancestor, but the English borrowing came straight across from modern French rather than through that older word. Because "tonneau" is a loanword, English kept the French plural ending, so "tonneaux" is the form used when speaking of more than one barrel. Since French nouns ending in "-eau" usually take an "-x" in the plural, the spelling here is simply the French one carried over into English usage.

Synonyms: barrel, cask, drum